Just One Dance
by DarkFonist
Summary: SquallxRinoa - Yet another fic about the SeeD graduation dance. My first try at a romance.


_There are at least 50 fics about this scene, but I felt like I ought to do one anyway. Naturally, it's a SquallxRinoa. This is my first try at a romance and it felt odd to write Squall as being nervous…_

Squall leaned against one of the many columns the adorned the edges of the dance floor. Rather than watching the other graduates, however, he stared up through the glass dome that dominated the ceiling at the stars above.

He wondered why he even bothered coming; this was just a social event and he had never been particularly keen on them. He'd rather be sitting alone in his dorm, or training, or anything. Almost anything would be preferable to standing around talking with other people and drinking – he felt the champagne glass in his right hand – probably juice or something. After all, what kind of school would just pass out alcohol to its students?

Squall's thoughts were interrupted when a streak of light shot across the night sky. _(A shooting star…)_ he thought to himself. He gaze slowly drifted downwards from the sight, and landed on a young girl standing in the middle of the dance floor. She was wearing a white dress, contrasting against the other dancers, who seemed to all be wearing the darker SeeD colors. He noticed that she too seemed to have been looking at the sky, despite standing the middle of the dance floor. She looked down, and turned her head, her raven black hair flowing with the movement as her dark eyes meet his.

She smiled at him, and he stared back. She held up a single finger, and Squall didn't know exactly what to make of the gesture. Was she pointing at the star? Asking him for a dance? He tilted his head slightly, unsure what to do. She turned and started walking towards him; he watched her as she approached, the smile still on her face.

"You're the best looking guy here," she said, her sweet voice almost making him believe it until he realized that she was probably just kidding with him. He looked down. She tilted her head, and as if reading his mind, added, "I'm not kidding." She paused. "Dance with me?"

His face betrayed nothing of his thundering heart as he pretended to ignore her request, but she was more persistent than he expected. "Hmm, let me guess…" she started, taking a thoughtful pose. "You'll only dance with someone you like." Squall swallowed but said nothing, not really trusting himself to say anything comprehensible. She clapped her hands together as if suddenly realizing something.

"Okay!" She stepped up right next to him, on her toes, his breath catching as she took his chin in her hand and made him look into her eyes. "Look to it my eyes…" she said, although he was already doing that. She took her other hand and circling it as if casting some fairy tale spell. "You-are-going-to-like-me…You-are-going-to-like-me…" she chanted, and Squall could only stare into her eyes as she did so.

"Did it work?" She stepped back a bit and looked at him, a curious smile on her face.

"…I can't dance," Squall lied, thanking that shooting star he saw earlier that his words came out perfectly calm. Well, maybe it wasn't exactly a lie. After all, there is no way he is going to be able to dance in _this_ condition. Squall, however, had once again not anticipated her persistence.

"It's okay, you'll be fine," she said, taking his hand in hers. "I'm looking for someone. I can't be out on the dance floor alone." Squall considered his possible responses before she decided for him, pulling him forcefully towards the middle of the floor. Unfortunately, she did not stop at the edge, taking him all the way to the very middle of the dance floor. Squall glanced around and he stumbled along, a bad feeling that he would never hear the end of this growing in the back of his mind.

The girl stopped, apparently having reached a semi-open spot, and Squall was barely able to catch himself before his momentum sent him into her. He heart pound in his ears and he wondered how she couldn't notice it as she took his right hand and placed it around her waist, then placed her left arm on his shoulder. Keeping his other hand in hers, she began stepping with the music, which he found slightly familiar.

The problem was that Squall didn't; he now found himself taking short, quick steps to maintain his balance as he attempted to position himself properly. Before he could get to where she had stepped to, she had moved again.

Then she stepped back, pulling his upper body along with her. His feet weren't as quick, and barely managed to prevent himself from falling into her. Instinctively, Squall brought his hands up, unsure if he had actually hit her or not and seriously considering just leaving. Before he could make good on that thought, however, she took his hands again, placing them in the right positions and then continued.

Squall sort of felt like he might starting to understand how to dance with this music; a pity that as he thought that, his partner pushed him away rather forcefully, linking their hands together as she did so. He had only a moment to consider how exactly he was supposed to respond to this before his momentum reversed and he failed to stop himself from crashing into her.

_(That's it,)_ Squall thought, and turned to leave, thoroughly embarrassed. Before he could get very far, he felt the girl's hand grab his own and pull him back again. He turned to her and was about to tell her that he couldn't deal with this any longer, but she smiled at him – for what reason, he couldn't say; this wasn't exactly his idea of fun – and then gracefully stepped around him. Squall was pulled by the motion, not even sure what he was supposed to be doing. Before he could try to figure it out, she had stepped to within inches of him again, now in the dance position they had been using previously.

She stepped left, and for the first time Squall succeeded in following the movement. Again, she moved, and he followed; his confidence began to increase. Just as he began to feel good about his progress, his next step sent him and his partner into another couple. Squall turned at stared at them, not sure whether to mutter an apology or something derisive. He also absently noticed that they were still holding hands; not that he was going to complain.

His dance partner decided for him, however, when she stuck her tongue out at the other two. It was so immature, it was almost…cute. Er, odd, that's what he meant. He turned to her and she just smiled happily at him, as if she were having the time of her life.

Stepping back slightly from him, the girl held their hands out between them, and Squall heard the music flowing into something he definitely recognized. She stepped left, and he stepped right. They alternated, twirled, and stepped again. He gazed into her eyes, and she smiling as she always had been despite his prior mistakes.

They released their grip on each other, stepping in time around one another. One step, and they were back to back. Another, and they linked hands again. She spun into him, and he caught her with his free hand, giving her a light push away as she untwisted their arms. She spun about again, and again he pushed her away, their back and forth motion moving with the beat of the song.

The room dimmed around them as the fireworks began to go off, and they pulled together on last time, their faces merely inches apart. Squall's heart was pounding faster than he though possible, but he felt something he never felt before. He felt _happy_. Contented. Turning his gaze to the light show going on above him, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

He felt the girl shift slightly in his grip, and turned to look at her, his smile fading as he realized that the moment wasn't going to last forever. She was looking over his shoulder, staring at something…or someone. She turned to him again, and stepped back, nodded slightly and clasping her hands together.

_(Thanks for the dance…)_ Squall echoed the meaning in his head before she walked off to a destination unknown, leaving him alone. Unable to bring himself to say anything, to ask her to stay – she disappeared into the crowd – to ask her name!


End file.
